Building a liberal arts tradition in India

Abstract

Postcolonial nations often struggle with the legacy of higher education systems built by and for the benefit of former colonizers. In India, several visionaries endeavored to design new culturally relevant approaches to higher education while taking inspiration from the US liberal arts college model. In an interconnected world, where a broader scope of understanding is required to craft solutions to societal challenges, young Indians are seeking an alternative to the specialized university model typical of Indian higher education. This paper explores the practice of the liberal arts in India through three questions: How have Indian universities built their own liberal arts tradition? What tensions do these universities navigate? What can African countries learn from these examples? I collected data through document analysis and interviews with founders, faculty, students, and alumni at three new liberal arts universities in India. Reflecting the ideals of Indian indigenous thought, the universities empowered students to carve out their own path of self discovery while analyzing and developing a commitment to improving the Indian context. The universities faced numerous tensions: responding to pressures to produce highly employable graduates while remaining true to institutional ideals, balancing western and eastern traditions, and fostering greater inclusion while maintaining financial sustainability. The findings are relevant to African countries, who have a shared colonial experience with India and are seeking to create new culturally relevant education traditions.